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On a walk around Edinburgh the other day we stumbled across a cemetery near Calton Hill. It is owned and maintained by the council and contains the remains of many of the city’s notables including David Hume – a famous philosopher who had a go at the social contract theories of Hobbes and Mill. Despite being a quiet atheist (people could be hanged for blasphemy in those days), Hume’s memorial still bears a religious inscription:

Behold I come quickly,
Thanks be to GOD which
giveth us the victory, through
our LORD JESUS CHRIST

DAVID HUME
BORN APRIL 26th 1711 DIED AUGUST 25th 1776
ERECTED IN MEMORY OF HIM
IN 1778

Inscription on Hume's Memorial

Memorial Hume

This memorial originally had a window – you can tell because of the way the arch looks – there are no hinge marks, but something used to be there. According to the signage nearby, the tower used to have a dome on top. The view from inside is beautiful – the sky is framed by the circular tower and certainly makes you think about where we are headed (depending on whether you agree with Hume!)